Chapter 598: Cherry Blossom Festival (1)
Chapter 598: Cherry Blossom Festival (1)
"What's the matter, Ely?" Sylvia also stopped in her tracks, following Elysia.
"We're being followed by someone, Sylvi. It's the same guy from the shop just now." Elysia spoke in a whisper-like voice.
"Hm, that kind of tall guy with blue hair? What does he want? Can he really not let go of that toy box? What a pitiful man." Sylvia glanced back and shook her head. She just thought the man in question just wanted to steal her friend's new toy.
'Ely, I think that man has other intentions. He may want to try to get to know you like other men. Or maybe, he realized something from us? This world also has people with superpowers, you see.' Elena came with a guess.
'That makes sense. Should we just walk away while ignoring him, or should we confront the person to ask him what he wants?' Elysia wanted to know other people's opinions.
'Just leaving feels a little lame, in my opinion. It will leave a sense of curiosity too. Dealing with the guy first seemed to sound better, Ely. What do you think, Rhea?' Elena patted her chin and looked at Rhea.
'I do agree. Let's face the guy and find out what he wants.' Rhea nodded in agreement. However, she somehow felt that the sky blue-haired man was oddly familiar. It was as if she had met him before.
'What is it, Rhea? It's like you're trying really hard to remember something.' Elena felt a little curious.
'It is okay. I just felt the stalker man was oddly familiar. I don't know why myself.' Rhea put her hand to her chin.
'Is it like that? His name is Amano Sora. Does that remind you of something?' Elena tilted her head slightly.
'E-eh? You can tell that person's name when he hasn't even told us his name yet, Master Elena?' Rhea was somewhat surprised.
'It's no big deal. We are omniscient sometimes, I must say.' Elena shrugged her shoulders.
'I see… But, Amano Sora, hmm…' Rhea glanced up a little while, trying to remember something again.
Meanwhile, Elysia and Sylvia continued on their way again. They turned and entered an alley to ambush the stalker.
Sure enough, the stalker man rushed after the girls as he didn't want to lose track of them. Unfortunately, someone suddenly pinned him against the wall swiftly.
"You really followed us like a stalker, sir? Why would you do that?" Elysia asked in an affronted tone.
"Who was following you, miss? I just happened to be walking through here. Ow, oww, hey, why did you hurt me? I didn't do anything to offend you, did I, white-haired miss?" Sora defended himself. He grimaced in pain because his arm was twisted on his back.
"You don't want to admit it? Would you rather admit it here and apologize, or we'll take you to the police?" Elysia tried to give a threat.
"Hey, chill, I didn't mean anything bad. Why do people nowadays keep bringing up things to those annoying cops? I just feel a little curious about you guys, okay? I've also given up the limited edition Gundam model." Sora tried to resist but failed because this white-haired girl was powerful.
"Is it like that? You're trying to figure out where we're going, right? Very well, if you don't have any bad intentions, then please don't stalk us." Elysia gave a signal to Sylvia, and the latter pushed the man out of the alley.
"No need to be so harsh. But, o, hey, you're foreigners, right? Can I know where you're from?" Sora checked his aching arm and tried his luck with that question.
"That has nothing to do with you, does it?" Elysia shook her head and walked away with Sylvia through the alley.
The man just sighed as he could only stand in place and watched the two girls leave. They then turned and could no longer be seen.
A few seconds later, Sora decided to follow the two girls again, but with a much more careful technique so his whereabouts wouldn't be discovered.
Unfortunately, the two girls somehow disappeared from the alley. He searched various streets until he met another big road. However, he had completely lost track of the two girls now.
"They disappeared? Those two girls couldn't have moved that fast in just a few seconds, right?" Sora muttered under his breath.
A Gravy Ark was hovering in invisibility about fifty meters from that location. Elysia, Sylvia, and Vanessa looked at the district below with different views.
"Ely, I know the guy is suspicious. He might want to steal your new toy, rob us, or maybe some other crime. We shouldn't have let him go without punishing him." Sylvia raised her fist as if she wanted to punch someone.
"That's fine, Sylvi. However, it will be different in the second incident. It's almost noon. We mustn't make Erina-san wait for us too long." Elysia patted Sylvia's back with a sweet smile.
"If you say so, then fine. Count it as your luck, stalker." Sylvia looked at the blue-haired man below before controlling the Gravy Ark fly towards the southwest.
Elysia looked once more at the somewhat suspicious man down there. She somehow felt something was wrong with the man, but she couldn't pinpoint it, neither did Elena and Rhea. That man was just like an ordinary person, not much remarkable either. With that considered, Elysia simply put the matter aside. They immediately headed to Osaka.
At that moment, in a particular room in the prestigious and luxurious grand theater somewhere in Osaka, a girl was playing the piano with a happy smile on her face.
The piano melody stopped with the closing beat, Mio opened her mouth in praise. "That's wonderful music, milady. However, I can feel the rhythm of joy and excitement in your melody. May I know what makes you feel that way?"
"Is that easy to figure out, Mio? Uhm, Elysia-san will be coming here this afternoon to visit me. I'm glad she's coming back to Japan." Erina put her hands together while looking at the clear sky beyond the glass wall.
"Elysia-sama? I can see that you are very interested in that mysterious girl, hmm… Do you want to establish a good relationship with her so that she is not claimed by other countries?" Mio tried to guess even though she wasn't so sure.
"Mou~ Mio, I didn't think it was that far and complicated. It's hard for me to explain, but I feel like she is one of the very few people I can make friends with. You've also evaluated Elysia-san in-depth, right? What do you think of her now?" Erina pouted for a moment and moved to move to the sofa. She then patted the seat next to her.
"Hmm, let's see. We can't confirm if Elysia is her real name. Still, I've done an in-depth investigation to find out her identity using facial scanning. However, I find it complicated and confused to draw a conclusion, milady." Mio made a steeple of her fingers as she looked into her milady's eyes.
"Why? We didn't even get any results regarding Elysia-san even after the state intelligence, and our intel dug into the deep network?" Erina blinked her eyes with curiosity.
Yes, there isn't any data about Elysia-sama. It was as if she was never registered in any country. She really is a mysterious girl from an unknown background. We don't know which hidden clan she is from, but I feel you need to be careful of her because her power is beyond measure." Mio gave a suggestion to her milady with a solemn expression.
"Hmm? Do you feel that Elysia-san approached me with ulterior motives? Then, what do you mean by beyond measure? Elysia-san was probably just disguising her real power." Erina tilted her head slightly, but the smile didn't diminish in the slightest from her face.
"I tried using the aura power meter that night while everyone was asleep. This is an artifact for our clan's elite team. It was destroyed when I tried to see Elysia-sama's aura. I am a rank 6 esper, and I can't detect her strength either." Mio showed a cracked, broken device.
"I see… Then, that becomes another reason for us to avoid offending Elysia-san, right? She seems like someone kind, friendly, and pleasant to talk to. Her personality, behavior, manners, and attitude are satisfactory. I've only known her for less than a day, but I feel pretty comfortable around her. Weird, right? My golden touch also has no effect on her. Tell me, Mio. What can we do if Elysia-san is a Grand Master or a Demi-God? Why did she come to me then?" Erina looked up at the distant sky with a look of deep comprehension.
"…" Mio was at a loss for words. She couldn't find the proper answer she could give to that question. After a minute of the train of thought, she decided to speak. "My apologies. If Elysia-sama is as you think, then the meeting that night was nothing more than a coincidence. To be honest, she wouldn't have approached you if it weren't for you inviting her."
"Yup, that's what I thought. You may evaluate and assess Elysia-san again the next time we meet her, Mio. I just want to have a real friend, not the fake one who hides something behind their friendliness.
I was able to find Elysia-san meeting all my criteria, and I'm sure of it." Erina clasped her hands together with a tender smile on her face. She was exuding a long-awaited sense of joy.
"I understand." Mio could only nod.
At that moment, the smartphone on the table vibrated. Erina immediately took her smartphone and read the incoming message. "Ah, Elysia-san has arrived in Osaka, Mio! We need to pick her up. Let's go."
Erina and Mio then left the theater building.